This is the tradeoff when you want to become a global company. You can either remain stalwart in your core values or you can meld with the local culture. Some companies, like Apple, take full advantage of the local culture to exploit cheap labor in China. On the other hand, American automobile companies are all but shunned in Japan for refusing to make high quality cars.

The decision to remove these women was probably handled at the local offices. The guys on the ground don't need a shiatstorm of controversy and just want to move product. But now the higher-ups seem to want to take control back. This won't end well for Ikea in Saudi Arabia. Maybe it's for the best, though. It's a terribly repressive culture.

hdhale:Actually inside the home with the family women would be without veils. But then I'm trying to use logic with people stuck in the 1500s. My apologies.

I'm guessing that would still be a problem because the catalog would still be out in public at some point in its existence. And if people saw the brazen hussy from the Western version of the catalog, that would of course be highly offensive and cause many many problems.

Much ado about nothing as far as I'm concerned, and I'm not trolling. They figured it would be safer to not have women (for the most part) in the middle eastern catalogue. The only mistake they made was, IMO not using different pictures than the Swedish catalogue.

A worldwide company is changing their advertisements to better reflect the core values of a local market. Big deal. Just because Ikea is based in Sweden doesn't mean that their stores in other countries need to reflect the norms of Sweden. People are looking too hard for something to be upset about here.

AverageAmericanGuy:This is the tradeoff when you want to become a global company. You can either remain stalwart in your core values or you can meld with the local culture. SomeAll companies, like Apple, take full advantage of the local culture to exploit cheap labor in China.

FTFA

On the other hand, American automobile companies are all but shunned in Japan for refusing to make high quality cars.

gingerjet:AverageAmericanGuy: This is the tradeoff when you want to become a global company. You can either remain stalwart in your core values or you can meld with the local culture. Some All companies, like Apple, take full advantage of the local culture to exploit cheap labor in China.

FTFA

On the other hand, American automobile companies are all but shunned in Japan for refusing to make high quality cars.

You really don't know what the fark you are talking about - do you?

it seems not. A corvette there can sell above a Porsche..(perform above them too) Top models of course

ampoliros:Jument: I think most of the Middle East is shamefully backwards but it's not Ikea's job to fix them.

Neither is it Ikea's job to go out of their way to tacitly support them. Removing the women took work; that was work they chose to do.

I think you're being a bit obtuse. Ikea's job is to make money. They do that by not alienating the consumers who make purchasing decisions. That means advertising according to locally-accepted norms. In America that might mean showing a white-skinned attractive woman. In the Middle East that same thing is going to cause huge problems, so they'll do something different.

Ikea's only sin here was that they were lazy farks. If they'd taken two different pictures with different people instead of erasing a women, there would be less outrage. The idea that they had to erase a woman is metaphorical. If they'd just had a completely different image that happened not to have a woman it in, I doubt anyone would have noticed.

poot_rootbeer:How is it more cost-effective to shoop certain people out the catalog entirely than it is to have alternate photos taken for each market based on cultural appropriateness?

Or... are they shooping the women INTO the Swedish catalogs?

Could be photoshopping the women into the catalogs, that's an interesting premise since it's harder to take something out of a photo than put someone in one. IKEA could be lazy enough with their photos to have a generic background pic shot and then put generic models in front of a green screen doing bathroom activities and then chroma keyed them in. If they really want to appease the Saudi Arabian culture, just photoshop a hijab/niqab on top of her head and a long dress, that seems to make more sense than removal.

Too bad they didn't shoop the women into swarthy men. IKEA could use the cataloge in Saudi Arabia and not offend any Saudis by showing a picture of a woman. They could use the same cataloge in gay friendly markets, by showing people in a same sex relationship.

AugieDoggyDaddy:Too bad they didn't shoop the women into swarthy men. IKEA could use the cataloge in Saudi Arabia and not offend any Saudis by showing a picture of a woman. They could use the same cataloge in gay friendly markets, by showing people in a same sex relationship.

There was a big fuss a few months ago, as it's the first time the catalogue has been entirely computer generated, not using actual physical mocked up rooms. The woman wasn't ever really in either picture because that room doesn't exist.

You could just as fairly say she was added to the Western version. How dare they add her for local market tastes! HOW VERY DARE THEY!

Bungles:There was a big fuss a few months ago, as it's the first time the catalogue has been entirely computer generated, not using actual physical mocked up rooms. The woman wasn't ever really in either picture because that room doesn't exist.

Every time I see a chick in a burqa my mind goes into overdrive and I briefly get a raging farkwand when she walks and the cloth shows the contours of her body. Oh man, burqa camel toe is the best kind of camel toe.